1/24 GAT-X105 Ali Strike Bust
Building the 1/24 GAT-X105 Bust: The Struggles Behind the Shine
Taking on the 1/24 GAT-X105 bust was a fun challenge, but it definitely wasn’t all smooth sailing. Right from the start, I decided to ditch the kit’s battery box and wire both the cockpit and head to run off a single power source. This meant figuring out my own wiring, which was a bit fiddly but worth it for easier power management.
One of the biggest headaches was all the chrome-plated parts. The kit is loaded with them, but I wanted a more realistic look, so I spent a lot of time sanding, priming, and repainting in metallic shades like Vallejo “Duraluminium.” The Vulcan cannons and outer skeleton needed extra attention to tone down the shine. Sanding chrome is messy and takes patience, but the result looked much better.
Detailing the head was another challenge. The LED eye fit was super tight, and I had to carefully bend the LED ends and route the wires, so nothing got crushed. I painted the eye parts Carmine Red for a deeper colour, but getting everything to fit without damaging the paint or the LEDs took a lot of trial and error. I learned quickly to test the lights at every stage and catching problems early saved a ton of frustration later.
Assembly brought its own set of issues. The instructions for feeding the cables through the head just didn’t work for me with the space was too tight and risked damaging the wires. I ended up cutting out extra space behind the head and neck, which made fitting everything much easier and safer for the wiring. Sometimes you just have to ignore the manual and improvise.
Painting the side panels and pistons was another lesson in patience. The chrome on the pistons had ugly seam lines, so I sanded, filled, and repainted them in “Stainless Steel” and “Metallic Purple.” The stand and base needed scraping and touch-ups to fit together cleanly, and I had to be careful not to scratch the paint during assembly.
The kit’s switch and battery box were flimsy and failed during testing, so I drilled new holes for a 5V USB power lead. Soldering and heat-shrinking the wires was a bit nerve-wracking, but it made the setup much more reliable.
Final assembly was all about careful wire management and making sure nothing got pinched or damaged. I used braided sleeving and heat shrink to keep things tidy and glued the stand on last to make sure everything was level. After a few checks to make sure the LEDs still worked, the bust was finally done.
